A Taste of Real Life
by s h r a d e r p
Summary: "The prettiest in the crowd that you have ever seen – ribbons in their hair and their eyes gleamed mean…"
1. Preamble

**Author's note: **Holla, amigos! It's been a long time since I wrote a story! Anyway, I decided to make a multi-chapter one. I know, I know, there are a lot of stories like this out there. I'm still not sure where it's going, though, jsyk. I apologise for the abundance of swear words in this story (seriously, there's a shitload of swearing in it).

**Disclaimer: **I ain't Suzanne Collins, yo. I don't own The Hunger Games and the characters – Suzanne does.

* * *

Panem Preparatory High – a high school any human being with half a brain would dream to attend. A boarding school as big as the White House itself, yet there are only less than two thousand selected students (all chosen by the school headmaster, President Coriolanus Snow) in it. Of course, everyone in that school must either be very wealthy, über-smart or physically gifted. And a school wouldn't be a school without the shitty rumours, famous students, and cliques.

Clove belongs with 'The Populars', a name her cousin Finnick had called their little group – consisting of Katniss, Annie, Jackie/Foxface, Johanna, Cato, Gale, Thresh, and Marvel – they're all popular because of their academic or athletic skills, or plainly because they looked like Barbie and Ken dolls.

Clove pondered things as she walked. Only a few years left of school. What the fuck would she do? She's still uncertain, with no clue about her future. She tucked her hair behind her ear and walked up the stone-flagged steps of Panem Prep.

* * *

Clove straightened her shirt and slid the door open. The classroom came to view, and she sucked in a lungful of air. The home economics teacher, Ms. Effie Trinket, craned her neck to look at her. Her pink wig was lopsided, as was her smile.

"Hello, my dear. Take a seat."

"Thank you, Miss."

"Saved you a seat," Johanna said, lifting her bag off the chair next to hers.

"Thanks, Jo." Clove sat down.

"Clo!" Katniss greeted in a hushed whisper.

"Katwoman," Clove acknowledged her.

Effie clasped her hands together. "Okay, as this is your first day back, it's Orientation Day! Could our new students please introduce themselves? You go first, my dear."

An unfamiliar girl stood up. She had blond hair and green eyes, and she spoke in a quiet voice. "I'm Madge Undersee, I'm sixteen."

A burly and pale blond boy stands up next. _Cute_, Clove thought. He smiled and said, "I'm Peeta Mellark. Sixteen."

"Guy from the bakery!" Annie trilled.

Peeta's cheeks turned red. "Uh, yes, that's me."

"Thank you, dear. You may sit down," Effie said kindly. "I'm sure you'll feel very at-home in this class. Now, dears, let's talk about babies. Pair up and grab some… dolls from this box here." She gestured to the box on her table. "Oh, and please pair up with the opposite gender."

Johanna groaned. "Ugh. Blight!"

"Pairs?" Peeta asked Katniss.

"We have no other choice, my friends are idiots," Katniss said, eyeing Marvel, who was laughing about the dolls' 'nappies', Finnick, who was checking his reflection on his watch, and Gale and Cato, who both looked confused and awkward.

"Hey Clove, let's be partners!" Cato pleaded. He knew for sure that if he stuck with her, he'd surely get an easy A+ in this class.

Clove nodded nonchalantly. "Sure."

"Great! Let's get a doll." He put his hands on her shoulders and steered her to the table.

"They're fucking ugly." Clove looked inside the box and shuddered at how much the high-tech, Capitol-made dolls resembled real babies.

"I know." Cato pulled out a 'baby' with a mop of curly blond hair. "This one's the best out of the lot."

"Mhm," Clove agreed.

"Okay, now that you've picked your dolls, I'll explain how this thing works. This is your first project, I don't want any of you to fail, so listen. If you open that little compartment where the heart should be, there's a digital thing with symbols and numbers. Of course, right now they're all zeroes. That device is your _baby_'s needs meter. The baby bottle symbol is for 'hunger', the pillow symbolizes 'sleep', the nappy and shower symbol both stand for 'hygiene', and the rattle symbol stands for 'entertainment', I think. Happiness, entertainment, either one of those. If you switch on your doll—_no, Thomas, not right now_, '_10%_' will appear beside those symbols. You'll have to make those numbers stay between 100-90 everyday up till the project's last day—which is one week from now—to get an A. _Am I clear_?"

"Yes, Miss Trinket."

"Fantastic. Before you switch on your doll, wait for the boxes I'm going to give out, they contain the things the babies need." Effie started walking around the classroom handing boxes. "Have a look inside your boxes and switch on your dolls, _this instant_."

A series of clicks were heard as dolls were switched on, and then silence followed – the dolls were yawning quietly.

"Beautiful! The bell is about to ring, so you might want to pack up now," Effie said. "Take your daughters with you, and take care of them well till next—" she was cut off by the bell.

"Yes!" Johanna cheered, throwing her doll up in the air.

"_Jo_!" Blight scolded.

Johanna rolled her eyes. "Calm down, you little shit. Okay, let's go, guys!"

_Not bad for a first day_, Katniss thought. "To our dorms!"

* * *

**Did you guys like it? I hope you did. Thanks for reading, anyway. Just so you know, reviews are always welcomed – tell me if I should continue or not. Drop your comments and constructive criticism. **


	2. I: Drinking in the small town firelight

_I fucking hate this day_, Katniss says – in her head. She had just been water-gunned to near-death by immature year nines, got told off by the school principal about being disrespectful to teachers (she couldn't help herself – they were practically _begging_ for it), and now she's in an overloaded bus, squashed between two strangers. To top it all off, the bus driver is a grumpy old man who wouldn't leave this bus stop because of stupid year 8 students playing with the bell.

"We won't leave till you kids stop that!" he bellows.

No one paid attention; strangers just stare on, the year eights keep on playing with the bell. Fed up, Katniss yells, "Will you fucking idiots _just stop_? You aren't the only people in this bus, alright?"

To her surprise, they stop and sit down. The bus driver finally starts up the bus again and drives off. The senior citizens in the bus look shocked but relieved.

_I've seen fire and I've seen rain_

_Seen sunny days that I thought will never end—_

Her phone rings, and she pulls it out of her pocket before it could make any more sound. She unlocks it and a notification pops out: **One new message from Annie**. She taps _show_ and reads it silently:

**kat! meet us at Firelight like right now! Btw, someone's interested in you ;)**

It's just another one of their frequent gatherings. It's usually in the local dive, and Katniss has no idea why Annie chose _Firelight_ (another small-town bar) tonight. And who the heck would be interested in her?

_Well, I guess there's only one way to find out_.

* * *

"Katniss!" Annie squeals. "Glad you could make it!"

"Uh-huh," Katniss responds. "So what's up? I've got a shitload of homework to finish. And a fucking doll to take care of."

"We all do, _hon_." Jackie sighs. "But it's Friday! Party!"

"Okay." Katniss shrugs. Johanna gives her a glass of amber liquid and she accepts – she never bothers to know what Johanna gives her. They all taste the same to her, anyway. Bitter and flat. "Where are the others?"

"Clove's MIA. Finnick's in the toilets, fixing his hair I think," Annie says. "Gale and the new girl—Madge? Yes, that's her name; they're making out somewhere. Cato's over there, goofing around with the other idiots – they're playing Chubby Bunny."

"Oh," Katniss says. "Who else is here?"

Annie shrieks. "Yes, I almost forgot! Peeta's here somewhere." Then she whispers, "He likes you."

Katniss laughs. "The new boy?" _He doesn't even know me that well_.

"Yeah, the new boy," Jackie says. "He's cute, ya know."

_State the obvious. Wait, what? No, I don't like him. I don't. Never ever in a million years! Okay, he's sweet and all, but… Stop it, Katniss! Get a grip!_ Katniss mentally argues with herself.

"Indeed." Annie nods. "Cute as a—"

"Watermelon Schnapps, please." Clove sits on the stool next to Katniss's, drumming her fingers—no, nails—on the graphite bar.

"Where you been, girl?" Annie asks her. "Your mascara's smudged, by the way."

Clove shrugs before accepting a glass of watermelon Schnapps. "Study hall."

"What the fuck? I didn't know study hall can get this late." Johanna scratches her head.

"Me neither." Clove smiles dubiously.

"Ew," Katniss reacts, horrified. "You're _fifteen_, for fuck's sake!"

"Sixteen tomorrow," Clove reminds her smugly.

"Which is why," Annie says, "we should go to the dive I work in."

"Sure." Johanna nods dismissively.

"What's so special about that bar?" Clove asks.

"First ever job, remember? And I've been working in there for nearly two years!"

"Oh."

"Hi, guys." Peeta slides into the seat next to Clove's.

"Who the hell are you?" Johanna asks. "Oh wait! You're the new guy – Peeta, right?"

Peeta nods. "Yeah."

Katniss smiles at him, hoping it looked more like it than a grimace. "Hey."

"Hey, Katniss."

Annie clears her throat. "Shall we dance?"

"I don't dance," Clove whines.

"Liar!" Johanna hisses.

"No, I swear I—"

"When I say we dance, we fucking dance, _Chloë_." Annie glares at both of them. Then she smiles sweetly. "Let's go!"

"Okay, that was weird," Peeta says, watching the girls' retreating backs.

"I know," Katniss tells him. "I'm embarrassed to be their friend, yet fucking proud too."

"Everybody wants to be friends with you lot," he says, an eyebrow arched.

_Yeah. What 'beauty queens' we are_, Katniss says – in her head, of course.

"Well, you can be part of the clique," she says, "when you get along with everyone well. You aren't—and don't look—dumb, and you don't look bad either. You're basically destined to be one of the Populars."

"_Populars_?" he repeats.

"Yeah, that's the group name. Finnick just decided to call us that."

"And I guess you could call that other 'clique' _Plastics_?" he says, referring to Glimmer, Cashmere and Gloss.

Katniss laughs. "Oh my God, that's what Gale says!"

"Great minds think alike," he says with a smile that doesn't quite reach his eyes.

The rest of the Populars stumble over.

"Okay, dorm numbers!" Jackie squeaks. "Mine's 156. Anyone?"

"I've got 156," Madge says.

"Yay!"

"Did they give it randomly?" Finnick asks.

"No, they use slips of paper with our names on it from glass bowls," Katniss explains.

"Oh."

Marvel scratches his head. "I'm in 143."

"Roommate!" Cato fist-bumps him.

"137," Johanna announces.

"I'm 137, too." Clove confirms, putting her key back into her pocket.

"111," Gale says.

"Me too." Thresh high-fives him to express his happiness.

"Seriously, dude? A _high-five?_"

"You got a problem?"

"Nah, we're cool. Right?"

"134." Katniss laughs. "In case you guys didn't notice… We're all in the same floor! In fact, we occupy that whole floor."

"Whoa, I'm in 134." Peeta's jaw drops. "It must be a mistake, I don't think girls and boys could—"

"It happens, mate." Finnick puts a hand on Peeta's shoulder.

"I'm 128." Annie frowns. "And every one of you already have your roommates. Which means mine isn't from our clique."

"That's okay, Ann," Jackie consoles her. "You never know, your roommate might share the same interests as you."

"Yeah, I'll just hope for the best."

"Guys, it's getting late," Finnick drawls.

"I know, right? Let's go, 'cause I gotta admit – I'm _bashed_." Johanna says.

Katniss nods, feeling pretty dizzy as well. "Yeah. Guys, let's go!"

We step out of Firelight, the drunken ones stumbling over each other. Everyone stares at our only ride – Marvel's old band's van.

"Okay, who's driving? Marvel's _wasted_." Annie asks.

"I will!" Johanna volunteered.

"Jo, you're drunk," Clove says.

"Fuck it," Johanna waves her off. "Let's roll!"

* * *

"Katniss, wake up!" Annie's shrill voice pierces Katniss's eardrums.

_What the hell is she doing here?_ "I'm up, I'm up!" comes Katniss's muffled reply, her face squashed on her pillow.

"I. Cannot. Understand. A. Word. You. Say." Annie says, punctuating each word with a kick to Katniss's thigh.

"Ow! Damn you, Annie! I'm fucking awake!" Katniss yells.

"That's more like it," she says, pulling her friend's blanket off. "Anyway, Ijustfoundoutwhomyroommateis – it's _Glimmer!_" Annie was already dressed in the uniform – a short black skirt, white button-down shirt with long sleeves, and a black necktie.

"It's 6 am!" Katniss complains, looking at the clock. "You could've told me later! Besides, classes don't start till 8:30!"

"We need to eat breakfast, and let's face it—we both can't cook to save our lives. That's why we're going to Jo's, she's already cooked." Annie explains.

Katniss nods. "You go on ahead, I'll just take a shower."

Peeta barges in, dressed in the boys' uniform – black slacks, a white long-sleeved polo shirt with a black vest over it. "Ready, you girls?"

"No. Haven't you heard of this thing called knocking?" Annie quips.

"Sor—" Peeta starts, but Katniss cuts him off.

"Don't mind her, Peeta. You, Annie, don't be so rude. He's my roommate. Now get out, you two." Katniss grumbles. They scurry outside, Annie laughing. "See you, _Kitty Kat_!" she yells.

Katniss rolls her eyes, even though they couldn't see her. "Go on, shoo!"

* * *

"Morning, Katniss!" Jackie greets. "Have a seat," she offers, as if she owns the dorm. _Everyone else is here… Wait, what the fuck? How did we all fit in here?_

"Katniss," Johanna hands me a plate loaded with food. She looks tense, but she smiles and says, "Eat up."

"Thanks," Katniss says, accepting the food. "Any of you know the time?"

"Seven thirty-four," Marvel says, seeming a little tense too. "We're actually early today."

A loud wail pierces the morning air and the group winces.

"Oh my God! Someone make that stupid baby stop!" The shrill voice of none other than Glimmer Maverick follows the sound. Then silence ensues.

Katniss's blood boils, and the memories come flooding back.

_Glimmer stood with her back to Katniss, her blond ringlets swishing against her waist. "Have you heard that Katniss girl only has one pair of uniform? That's like so… I don't even know how to describe it! Such a pity, don't you think? I don't know why she puts up with that! Oh wait, I forgot! It's because her daddy's dead and her mommy's too sad to even take care of her. I heard that they're too poor to b—"_

"_You bitch!" Katniss cried, raising her tiny 9 year-old voice._

_Then Glimmer was right up her nose, spitting, "Did you say something, rat-girl?"_

"_I said you're a bitch, all that ever comes out of your mouth is shit!" Katniss screamed._

_Glimmer and her minions laughed loudly, real annoying and crow-like._

"_Is that the best you can do, _Catpee_?" Glimmer laughed again. "To the bathroom, girls!"_

"That was my doll." Johanna's voice brings Katniss back to the present. "Sorry." Johanna picks the doll up. "Isn't there a mute button in this thing?"

"Nope," Annie informs her. "You have to be a good parent."

"Are you saying I ain't one?"

"No, no, I—ugh. Just put it back to sleep, or check what it needs if you don't know why it's crying."

Johanna does so, and she cringes afterwards. "I don't know how to change a nappy and bathe a baby."

Loud laughter and suggestions fill the room.

"Make Blight do it!" Glimmer laughs.

"Just put it in a tub and soap it!"

"Shh, _some people_ are sleeping!" Johanna hisses.

"Where's the bedroom?" Jackie says devilishly. She wanders around opening doors, much to Johanna's dislike.

"Finch, I swear to God, you're making a mess! There's an inspection tomorrow!" Johanna yells as she shoves a vacuum cleaner back into a utility closet.

"_There's an inspection?_" Katniss shrieks, looking at Annie. "My dorm is a pigsty!"

"But we just moved to our dorms last night," Annie responds.

"Katniss is such a pig, like—" Johanna says, and then she screams, "Jacqueline, stop it right now or I'll kick you out!"

Clove descends the stairs in her PJs, rubbing her eyes.

"Hi, Clove!" Johanna says. "Want something to eat?"

"No thanks," Clove says, sitting down beside Annie.

"You smell like warm bed sheets on a Sunday," Annie comments. "You're so adorable! Now go wash up."

"I hate—" Another loud wail commences from a distance, cutting off whatever Clove was going to say. "That fucking doll, I swear to God if it doesn't stop I'll—"

"MAKE IT STOP!" Johanna screams. "These dolls will be the death of me, I just—"

"I'll get it," Cato says, getting up. "Hurry up, Chloë."

"_Ooh_," Annie trills, poking Clove's stomach. "You guys seem like responsible parents."

"He is," Clove mutters bitterly.

"Oh?"

"I'm going to take a shower," Clove says, pushing herself up.

"Eat something. Aren't you hungry?" Katniss asks.

"Nope," came the reply.

Johanna sighs. "You need to eat something! Just—"

"I'm having a pap smear later," Glimmer announces dramatically, and Katniss swears she sees Johanna's eye twitch.

"Eww! Gross!" Jackie shrieks.

"Bitch please. As if you haven't gone to get one." Annie rolls her eyes.

"I haven't!" Jackie professed.

Cato walks back into the room casually. "What's a pap—"?

"What_ever_, guys," Johanna says, clearly exasperated. "We're late, which means we're fucked – so hurry the fuck up, Clove. The rest of you, _out_!"

"Bossy," Clove mutters almost inaudibly.

* * *

"Glimmer," Effie says kindly, "you're supposed to cooperate with your partner."

Glimmer frowns. "But Marvel's doing fine, in fact, he doesn't need my—"

"Of course I do," Marvel says pointedly. "You know that, Glimmer. Why don't you change the baby's diaper?"

"_The baby?_" Effie gasps so loudly that everyone stops fussing over their dolls. "Your babies don't have names? You need to name them!"

"Oh, great," Clove mutters.

"Let's name her Cassie," Cato suggests.

"Yay, great! We're the _C_ family!" Clove says with fake enthusiasm. She couldn't tell if he _really _just wants a high grade or if he's attached to the doll.

Cato frowns. "Were you being sarcastic?"

"I'm not. Give me the baby—I mean Cassie—and go get a change of clothes. We're giving her a bath." Clove says sweetly as Effie passes by. The teacher gives a pleased nod.

"Okay," Cato responds. As he looks for the clothes, Clove couldn't help but notice the giggles and whispers emanating from behind them.

"—_such a cute couple!_"

"_I know, right?_"

"Here," Cato says. "Okay, how do we do this?"

"Hold her," Clove instructs, putting Cassie on his arms before going to the sink to put water on a basin. She ducks to avoid a flying baby head. "What the heck?"

"Who owns that doll?" Effie screams shrilly. "An F for you!"

"_Thresh!_" Jackie shrieks, horrified. "You're dead meat!"

* * *

**A/N**: To that anon, those ships are _exactly_ what's going to be this story's about. The story kinda revolves around their lives as young adults going astray – more on that in the next chapter, though.

Anyways, thanks for reading and reviewing! I don't mind you adding this story to your follows/favourites without leaving a review, don't worry. But sometimes I'll need some ideas or suggestions, so feel free to drop by and say them through review or as private messages. Thank you! :)


	3. II: Sweet sixteen

"Guys, guys, hold on! You better talk this out, settle it peacefully." Johanna steps in between Thresh and Jackie, giving both a stern look.

Jackie tries to lunge for Thresh, but Finnick grabs her arms before she could even reach out. "Let go!"

Finnick shakes his head, saying, "Calm down, Jackie."

"Get him out of my sight or I swear I'll—" Jackie starts, struggling against him.

"Thresh, you may want to step out—"

"Yeah," Thresh says, quickly backing away and walking out of the classroom. Marvel immediately follows.

"Ja—"

"_No_, Johanna, I will not calm the fuck down!"

_Well, you tried_. Johanna mentally braces herself for her friend's outburst.

"If I get a fucking hold of him, I swear to God I will skin him alive!" Jackie says, shaking with anger.

"Stop it," Katniss hisses. "You're making a scene!"

"Well if he hadn't been just so immature and—and _stupid_, this wouldn't have happened! Look what he's done, he cost us our entire project!" Jackie screeches.

Annie sighs. "Seriously, girl, cool down! We'll talk some sense into him later."

Jackie frowns and stops struggling. "Fine."

"Well, this messed up my schedule," Effie mutters under her breath. Then she clears her throat and announces, "Okay, we can all continue with what we were doing! Come on, don't waste time! And jot down those notes on the board."

Clove turns off the tap and waves Cato over. "You write. I'll do this thing."

Cato gives the whiteboard a quick scan.

**When a sperm and egg unite (fertilisation)—**

_Looks pretty long_. "No way," he says. "I have chicken-scratch handwriting, remember?"

Clove sighs. "Yeah, it wouldn't exactly help us if you do the note-taking."

He can tell she really isn't in the mood to argue, and if she doesn't fight back, well, what he's doing would be called 'taking advantage.' "On second thought, I'll do it."

"FINNICK, YOU'RE DROWNING THE BABY!" Annie screams, frantically pulling the baby away from Finnick.

"I HAVEN'T EVEN PUT HER IN THE TUB YET!" Finnick yells defensively.

"OH YEAH? WELL IT'S NOT A TUB, IT'S A BASIN!" Annie yells back.

"Mr Odair! Ms Cresta! Stop acting like children and get your work done," Effie reprimands.

"Miss, you forgot to put the date on the board!" Marvel says, tapping his pencil on his desk.

"Oh, right. I'm sorry." Effie scribbles the date on the top right of the blackboard.

"Happy birthday, Clove." A tall, scrawny boy taps Clove's shoulder.

"Oh my Go—oh, Andrew, it's you. I, um, sorry, what was that?" Clove rubs her soapy hands together under running water before shaking water droplets off.

"I just wanted to wish you a happy birthday." Andrew's cheeks were pink. "Did I get it wrong? I'm—"

Clove dries her hands on a paper towel. "No, no, you didn't. Thank you, Drew. That's… um, really nice."

"You're welcome. So… do you wanna hang out later?" Andrew asks nervously.

"Oh, I can't. I'm going out with my friends. Sorry." Clove says quickly. "Maybe tomorrow?"

"Yeah, sounds pretty cool to me." Andrew says, nodding a little. "Uh, I'll see you around." He turns his back on her and starts to walk away.

Clove sighs. _I'd obviously given him the wrong impression_, she thought, mentally face-palming. _Well, it's not that I like him anyway_.

* * *

Marvel grins. "Did you see Andrew during Home Economics? Poor dude. Should have known better than to hit on Clover."

"He wasn't even hitting on her, he was just wishing her a happy birthday – which you all didn't!" Johanna whisper-yells.

"Well," Annie says, "let's just plan a quick surprise party."

"Great, we can totally do that in three hours!" Glimmer rolls her eyes.

"Shut up Maverick, or I'll punch your lips in," Johanna threatens.

"What we need is distraction," Finnick says. "And we all know who's perfect for that. Marvel, go and distract her."

Marvel does a salute. "Yes, sir!" he barks, marching outside Glimmer and Annie's dorm. He trips on a cord protruding from Katniss and Peeta's door. "Why you little sh—"

"_Marvel?_"

"Clover! It's you! Hi." Marvel stands up and rubs the back of his neck sheepishly.

Clove finishes pulling her hair up in a half-ponytail. "What are you doing? It's almost lights-out minute."

"Hey, since when do we sleep at 10:30, huh? Those rules ain't a match for the Populars!" Marvel says. "Look, I just got a DVD of _The Host_—wanna watch it with me?"

"Um, I'll think about it," Clove says, placing a hand on the doorknob. "I'll just—"

"No, don't go in there!" Marvel yells, throwing himself in between her and the door. "Trust me, you wouldn't want to walk in and see Finnick and Annie."

Clove lets her hand drop limply. Then she shrugs. "Okay."

"C'mon, let's watch a movie." Marvel pulls her by the sleeve over to his dorm.

* * *

Cato looks up from a book he's reading. "Hey."

"What are you reading?" Clove asks.

"_Looking For Alaska_."

"Sounds interesting. Man, I didn't even know you read." Marvel laughs. "Anyway, we're watching a movie. Do you wanna watch it or do you wanna move to the sleeping area?"

"I'll move. Kind of in the middle of an emotional moment right now."

"Let me guess – a character dies?" Marvel says. "You'll get over it, dude."

"Is this your first novel?" Clove asks.

Cato shakes his head in response.

"Well… that's good, keep reading." Clove tells him.

"Wish him luck, come on!" Marvel nudges her.

Clove rolls her eyes. "Good luck, dork."

"Thanks. Oh – happy birthday, by the way."

Clove manages a smile and a soft "thank you." She watches him as he leaves for the bedroom, almost tripping on Marvel's little wooden trains.

"Girl!" Marvel chirps, imitating Annie, "Let's dress you up!"

"What? We're just watching a movie." Clove says.

"We're going to the dive, 'cause it's your birthday. So instead of rushing in the last-minute, we'll dress up for the occasion before the movie. And after the movie, you need to go see Annie for 'hair and makeup.'" Marvel says matter-of-factly.

"Well…"

"Now come on, birthday bitch. Do you want to walk voluntarily or do I need to drag you?"

* * *

"Balloons are here!" Finnick announces.

"Finnick, keep your voice down." Katniss scolds.

"Oops. Sorry," Finnick whispers.

"Okay, can you and Katniss put the balloons up? Annie, are you finished with the strobe lights?" Johanna asks, for once not yelling.

"Yep," Annie answers. "I'll just set up the kitchen with Glimmer."

"Red cups," Glimmer observes, "check. Food, check. Coke, check. _Liqueur_, check. Wait… we're allowed to booze it up in here?"

"No," Gale answers. "So keep your voice down and don't gossip about it to your little _BFFS_."

"Okay," Glimmer answers quietly, her voice emotionless for the first time. "So after this decorating stuff, what do we do?"

"We dress up, meet with Clove and the two idiots in the dive, then after we party for a little while in there, we go back here for the surprise." Johanna explains.

Glimmer nods. "Well, doesn't she need to come here to get dressed up?"

"Don't worry, that's taken care of." Katniss's voice was muffled. She was in the midst of sixteen red balloons, tying their strings together with red elastic.

"Why is everything red, by the way?" Glimmer asks. It's the first time Katniss addressed her directly, so that's the only question she can formulate at the moment.

Annie rolls her eyes. "Why do you think?"

"Um, it's her favorite color?"

"Most likely. Now stop asking questions, save them for Truth Or Dare."

"Hey, I just thought – won't everyone else in the level—whole building too—hear the music?" Thresh asks.

"We thought of that already," Jackie answers. "Majority of the people in this building are invited, you see. The nerds who are likely to tell… well, we bribed them."

"But Snow and—"

"They're in the other building, _idiot_. If you really think they can hear, there's something wrong with you."

Annie nods. "This campus is _big_."

Panem Prep indeed is big. The campus is like a town itself. There are restaurants, fast food chains, gyms, salons and spas, libraries, and grassy fields referred to as parks. Then there are the school buildings and dorm buildings, tall as skyscrapers. 'Better than most colleges,' some people say.

"Did you hear the announcement this morning? There'll be a lot of new students," Katniss says.

"Finally, we won't feel so alone in here." Finnick cheers. "I mean, this school is huge as fuck, and the population is just two-thousand!"

"Well, it's gonna be at least two thousand five hundred soon," Katniss says. "And seeing you barely contributed to putting these balloons up… you clean up the mess."

"Unfair!"

* * *

"Marvel, I have a question," Clove says.

"Yeah?"

"What are my clothes doing here?"

"Oh… Uh, I figured you don't want to walk into Finnick and Annie having sex, so I got your clothes for you. Put them on, I'll wait in the living room area." Marvel says evasively before he steps out of the room and closes the door behind him. "Phew."

Clove stares at the garments spread out on the bed. She realizes she has no choice, so she strips off her uniform and puts on the striped, black crop top that fell on her midriff, the black leather miniskirt with chains on the waist, a pair of black ankle-strap stilettos and a silver-chained necklace with a ruby pendant the size of her pinkie finger.

Marvel knocks on the door. "Are you decent?"

"No."

He opens the door anyway, and Clove feigns disappointment. "I thought you were better than that."

"What? I knew you already had at least the top and the skirt on, based on the time estimated for an individual to put on the said garments."

"Which is…?"

"Um… it doesn't matter. Anyway, I have to take you to Annie so she can do your makeup."

"God, it'd take a miracle to get her to stop doing that."

"IKR."

Clove gives him a puzzled look. "_IKR?_"

"Abbreviation for 'I know right,'" he explains. "I am _such_ a genius. Come on, admit it. I have outsmarted you."

"Shut up."

* * *

Glimmer opens the door, wearing a dark blue frock with a neon yellow belt and matching high heels. "Oh, hi! I suppose you're here for Annie. But she's out with Johanna at the moment… Do you still want to come in?"

"Sure," Clove says. She and Glimmer aren't friends, but they aren't enemies either. They had just never talked much before, just the occasional 'I'm sorry,' or 'Excuse me,' at hallways. "Did they say where they were going?"

"_Nooooo_. But if you want, I can do your makeup!"

"Um, no thanks. I'm good."

"How about your hair?"

"Well, I—"

"It would help save time," Marvel puts in. Both pairs of eyes turn to him. "So… I, uh, I better get going. Gotta get 'glammed up.' See you girls later?"

"Yeah, see you, _Marvel_." Clove says with a tiny hint of venom in her voice.

"Let's get inside." Glimmer pulls her into the dorm. "So, how was inspection?"

"I don't know…?" Clove eyes the blonde suspiciously. "Ask Jo."

"Okay, I'll do your hair! Let me just get the curling iron…"

* * *

A tangled mass of limbs occupies the dance floor, moving to the loud music. Light bounces across chests and shoulders glistening with sweat. The bass reverberates against the walls. Clove's heartbeats match every _thump_.

"Happy birthday!" Katniss keeps screaming over and over again.

"We love you!" Annie says for the thirtieth time that night.

Clove wonders if it was true, if Annie did mean it. She laughs and says, "Love you too, Ann."

* * *

**A/N**: Did you like this chapter? Should I continue or...?

Oops, don't answer that. I'll continue the story anyway. I hope you keep on bearing with me and my mediocre skills. I still haven't decided where this story is going, but it's easier to write because I finally have a foundation. Anyway, in the next chapter (or the next, next one) you'll be regaled with the characters' pasts/childhood years. And something _shocking_ (okay, maybe not so much) will happen! Clue: it has something to do with Glimmer.

Okay, I just really wanna say that y'all are awesome. Thank you for your continuous support!


	4. III: There she was, my new best friend

**A/N**: Holla, you amazing people! I hope y'all didn't have to wait very long for this. Anyway, I'll just address some people who reviewed. I pray it's not too much of a bother… Okay, here we go.

Dear user **cherrycolahoneykisses**, I love your pen name! Thank you for your reviews, I appreciate them so much. Anyway, the answer to your question is... *drumroll* It's because it's her real name. My mind was too creative when I started writing, I just randomly thought up a name (you'll discover her full name in this chapter)! I bet my future kids will _love_ their names (if I ever have kids). Again, thank you. :)

User **OdairBear**, your pen name is uh-mazing. Thank you for reviewing! I recall you reviewing on my two other stories (one of which I deleted), and I'm thankful! I absolutely love your stories, they're really awesome, yk.

And user **clovelyshannonigans** (did I get that right?), thank you for your review! Dw, even if people stopped telling me to continue this, I still would (reviews are _very_ much appreciated, though. And, um, no pressure there). I feel like I'm actually being productive by writing this, and to me, that's pretty cool. Anyways, your stories are _fantabulous_ too. I love them. Thanks again!

And to everyone else (especially that guest called 'ANON YO,' you guys are awesome – thanks for taking the time to review!

OKAY, HERE'S THE NEXT CHAPTER! Forgive all and/or any of my grammatical errors, as English is not my first language. Enjoy!

* * *

"Where are we going? Tell me. _Now_. And I swear to God, if you don't take this thing off of my eyes I'll skin you alive," Clove threatens, albeit a tiny bit anxious.

"Shh," Gale says.

"Just tell me. And take the blindfold off, it's wrecking my makeup," Clove demands. Everything was pitch black because of the blindfold, and Gale could easily shove her down a staircase, push her from a balcony, and God knows what else.

Gale chuckles. "I was told to not do so no matter what you say."

"How long?"

"We're actually here now," he says. "Ready?"

"What?"

"I thought you'd figured it out by now… this is a surprise."

"I know it is, but why'd you ask me if I'm ready? Gale, sometimes you're so—"

"Yeah, yeah. I know." Gale knocks on the door.

Clove feels the fabric slip off. "Can I open my eyes now?"

"Nope, not yet. What's taking them s—?" They both hear a click, and Gale suddenly gives her a good shove and she nearly trips on something. "Okay, now."

Clove opens her eyes, and almost instantly, a head-splitting rendition of "Happy Birthday" from the Populars greets her.

"…_Happy birthday, dear Chloë, happy birthday to you!_"

"Again? You guys, I—thank you." Clove manages to get the words out.

Jackie begins fussing on how 'ungraceful' Gale was when he pushed Clove in. "…I mean, honestly, you could've hurt her!"

"Presents!" Annie announces.

"Cut the cake first!" Katniss says excitedly. A loud _pop!_ makes her squeak. "Oh my Go—who the fuck opened the champagne? You gave me a heart attack!"

"Whoops," says Johanna.

Marvel wordlessly gives his gift to Clove and hugs her.

"Happy birthday, you wonderful, wonderful human being!" Katniss squeals, hugging Clove tightly and shoving a gift into her hands.

"Thanks, Kat." Clove smiles.

"Have a happy birthday," Peeta says, giving her a tiny box the size of a baby's fist.

"Happy birthday, girl!" Annie shrieks, giving her present to Clove.

"Here's mine," Johanna says, doing the same. "Even though you're a total bitch sometimes—like me—I still love you. 'Cause you're like the sister I wish I had. I just wanna let you know that I'll be here for you always to put up with all your shit. No matter how tough it gets."

Clove sniffs. "Thank you, Jo."

"Are you _crying_? Shucks, don't cry!" Annie squeaks frantically.

Clove rolls her eyes for what must be the twentieth time that day. "No, I'm just sweating through my eyes," she says sarcastically.

"Here you go, Clover." Gale gives her a badly wrapped present. "Okay, I know it sucks on the outside but when you open it, you're gonna love it."

"Sure. Thanks, Gale."

"Happy birthday, Clove," Madge says shyly as she presented her gift. "I hope you like it."

"Thank you, Madgy-padgy."

"Did you say _pudgy_?" Gale asks.

Clove's eyes widen and she bursts out laughing. "Hell no! She's nowhere near pudgy."

"Present from Thresh and I," Jackie says, bestowing their gift.

"Thank you, guys."

"Um, I… kinda didn't know it's your birthday," Glimmer begins, "but I got you a present. I hope you appreciate this. Here."

Clove places all the gifts down on a chair. "Thanks, Glimmer."

"Happy birthday, princess." Cato tosses his present high up in the air.

"Thank you," Clove says after she caught the little box. "This is heavy."

Finnick steps up on the coffee table. Johanna was about to say something, but he lifts one foot to show he has no shoes on. He clears his throat. "My favourite cousin—"

"I'm your only cousin, Finn."

"Oh. Yeah. You're right! How could I have forgotten?" he laughs. "Anyway, it feels like yesterday we were just tiny little kids—you're still tiny though—painting our faces with mud, having sleepovers in a tree house and building forts in the balcony…"

"_Tiny?_"

"Yeah, _tiny_. Alongside Mom—and Annie—you're one of my most favourite girls in the whole wide world. I wouldn't trade you for anything. Happy birthday, Chloë Isabella Cassandra O. Foster. _Ily xoxo_."

Clove gives her cousin a genuine smile. "You forgot your gift, didn't you?"

Finnick lets out a loud laugh. "I didn't!" He pulls out a huge wooden box from under the table.

"Whoa," Clove says. "Thanks, Finn."

"Now that it's done…" Johanna grins. "Party!"

* * *

Red cups and Silly String remnants littered the floor. Marvel, Jackie and Annie were passed out on the couch, Glimmer and Katniss had curled up on armchairs near the big 41-inch flat-screen TV, and the rest of them were on the plush-carpeted spot.

Glimmer groans as she sits up, rubbing her left temple. Her head's throbbing, the room was dark as fuck and there's a high-pitched ringing in her ears. She wanted to vomit so badly. Her thoughts kicked in as quickly as four o'clock, and she chokes back a sob.

"What the fuck?"

Even though multicolored spots were dancing in front of her eyes and the ringing is overpowering her hearing, she's shitsure that it's Clove who spoke.

"Did I wake you up? Sorry." Glimmer apologizes.

Clove shakes her head, and then she remembers Glimmer can't see. "No. I was awake. Couldn't sleep."

"Oh… that sucks. I'm sorry," Glimmer whispers.

"S'okay. Bad dream?" Clove's phone illuminates part of the room a little.

Glimmer hesitated. _Why is this girl being so nice and… caring all of a sudden?_ "I… uh…"

"It's okay. It happens." Clove gently pushes Johanna's leg off of hers.

"I was going to say I didn't," Glimmer says. Then she covers her mouth.

"Oh. Okay, then what?"

Glimmer goes back to whispering. "Some things are bothering me."

"You can stop whispering, these guys won't wake up till they're ready to," Clove says. "Really. Wanna tell me about those _things_?"

"Cash and Gloss don't want to be friends with me anymore just because I refused to steal Johanna's diary for them, if she has one." Glimmer admits. Clove sits up, so Glimmer figures she should, too. So she does. "And second, my parents are going to file a divorce. The fights are too much and my mom just can't handle it anymore. I don't know who to pick – I really want to stay with Mom, but I don't want to hurt my dad."

Clove was silent for a moment, but after the pause she finally says, "Screw the twins – they're immature and in my opinion, not worth getting _this _upset over. Have you tried persuading your 'rents to think otherwise?"

Glimmer swallows through the lump in her throat. "No… I was afraid to."

"Well, try," Clove says like it's the simplest thing in the world.

"How?"

"Visit as often as you can, organize dinners and stuff, go to church with them… Basically, do family stuff together. Do things that you think they're going to miss the most when they separate."

"Oh. I will."

"Is that all that's bothering you?"

"I'm not sure if I want to tell you. I mean, you're probably tired and you have a lot of stuff going through your mind right now."

"It's fine, really."

"You sure?"

"Yes."

"Well… okay. My ex-boyfriend is kind of… you know…"

"Yeah?" Clove gives the go-ahead sign.

"He's kind of threatening me to come back to him."

"Pfft. Ignore him, he's probably just an all-words-and-no-action guy," Johanna says, startling the two.

Glimmer almost jumps out of her skin but she continues, "And another one is—"

"Geez, how many exes do you have?" Clove cuts off.

"Um… nine."

Johanna _ooh_-ed. "Who's the most recent one?"

"We just broke up yesterday," Glimmer says. "He did… things. Don't tell anyone, okay?"

"We won't." Clove switches on a nightlight. "What's his name?"

"Raphael Crane," Glimmer says, wiping the mascara running down her cheeks.

"The dean's kid?" Johanna asks.

"Yeah."

"Sorry. That must suck." Clove knew it's not much, but it's the only thing she can think of saying.

"Oh, how I hate those guys… Anyway, I think that's all for tonight. Nice talking to you both. And, um, thanks."

"Ditto. Stop crying, okay?" Clove says.

"And go the fuck to sleep," Johanna adds. "It's almost two AM."

"Okay. '_Ditto_?'"

Clove shakes her head, laughing a little. "Never mind. Good night."

"'Night," Glimmer says, but she doesn't lie back down. "Let's keep the nightlight on."

* * *

_Glimmer sat under the dining table, one hand on her mouth. She giggled quietly._

"_Glimmer!" her mother called. "Time to come out, honey."_

_Glimmer giggled again, peeking out through the tablecloth falling on all sides of the dining table._

"_Glimmer," her mother repeated. "Come out, sweetie!"_

She had stayed under the table for a very long time. Now she knew she really wasn't better than her mother at hide-and-seek back then. Her mother must've seen her, because she sat down on one of the dining chairs and pretended to talk to herself about 'poor Glim' and how she's going to have to give Glimmer's dolls away. Then Glimmer had come out from her hiding place crying, and her mother rubbed circles on her back till she calmed down. She did the same when Glimmer was 11 and her first day in school ended up with her being a laughingstock. And again when Glimmer was fourteen and had her first heartbreak.

Glimmer wipes away her tears and lies back down on the armchair she's in. She turns the nightlight off.

* * *

A loud ring pierces the still air. Johanna groans and sits up, grabbing her phone.

"Hey!" she yells, nudging people with her foot. "Wake up!"

"What the hey?" Marvel says groggily. "It's 4AM."

"5 now, actually," Johanna states matter-of-factly. "Now help me wake these people up. They need to be back in their dorms before some janitor sees and tells Snow."

Marvel pulls out his phone. "Okay, let's wake them up."

"What are you doing?" Johanna asks.

A _high_-pitched ringing resounds across the room, and Johanna covers her ears to block it out, but to no avail. Then everyone in the room starts sitting up and complaining.

"Okay, listen up, you all!" Johanna barks. "It's 5 AM, which means a janitor's going around checking stuff, and he might see and report us all, so… Back to your dorms, now!" She gives Marvel the thumbs-up and mutters, "Thank the Lord for your ringtone thing."

* * *

"_Good morning staff and students, please excuse this interruption. Just a quick reminder before the bell. Could all teaching personnel go to the conference room right away, please, thank you. And an announcement for all Year 8 students: tryouts for the junior football team will be held during lunchtime today. Also, could the following Year 9 students please report to Mr Smith's office on Room 400: Ivana McCoy, Jade Hampton, Brittany Romaine…_"

"Where the fuck is Clove?" Katniss whispers to Johanna.

Johanna shrugs. "I have no idea. She did say she's gonna be late, though."

"Miss Mas—" Haymitch, the Math teacher, starts but another announcement interrupts him.

"_Could Raphael Crane pick up the white courtesy phone, please? Room 349 in the Science Quad. Raphael Crane, white courtesy phone._"

"That's Clove!" Annie gasps.

"What the fuck?" Marvel says as 'oohs' fill the room.

Raphael, being the cocky idiot he is, stands up and winks at the class before he walks out. His friends let out loud noises like a group of gorillas.

"Does he actually think he's getting a new girl to hook up with? The nerve." Glimmer scoffs, though she's confused. _What the heck is that girl doing?_

* * *

**A/N** (again)**:** CLIFFHANGER! I am very sorry, hopefully it won't take me too long to plan the next scene and write it. I'll try my very best, 'kay? Y'all motivate me a lot, thanks a bunch for that.

Now… review, maybe? :)


	5. IV: How I hate those guys

Clove slid open the door to the empty classroom to find Raphael sitting on one of the desks. She crossed her arms as she walked, the heels of her boots making soft swishing sounds on the polished cement floor.

He stood up, smirking. "Come to claim that kiss?"

"Actually…" Clove started as she approached him slowly. She stopped, no more than a foot away from him. "I came here for this." Her palm came in contact with his cheek.

"What the hell was that for, bitch?"

"That," Clove smiled sardonically, "was for treating Glimmer—and many others—like toys. And yet you have the hide to call me a bitch."

"That's what you are, you—"

He didn't get to finish his sentence as the tiny brunette's fist collided with his face. Raphael staggered back. "My dad will—" he started, but something hard strikes his gut and all the air got knocked out of him.

* * *

"What the fuck did you do?" Katniss demands.

"I just got mad, I—" Clove starts.

"That is _wrong_, you know that." Katniss scolds.

Cato nods. "And '_I just got mad_' isn't a—"

"Oh, give her a break," Johanna says. "She did an impressive job. Did you see the guy's face?"

"No." Katniss cranes her neck to scan the scene around them. Raphael's left eye was swollen, there was blood trickling down from his nose to his chin, and his lip was busted but he was still talking, telling everyone that he just didn't fight back because he doesn't like the idea of hitting a girl. The dean, Seneca Crane, pulls his son up by the arm.

"I only got half of his face," Clove mutters.

"Thank God that teacher showed up, or else he'd have to borrow a new one," Annie says, torn between being impressed and horrified.

"Miss Foster," Mr Abernathy calls. Besides being a math teacher, he's a guidance counsellor and year level supervisor. "After-school detention for two weeks."

"Yes, sir."

Glimmer gasped. "That's totally un—"

"Let it be," Marvel tells her.

Clove nods. "It happens. Don't worry about it."

"Is she hurt?" Finnick comes stumbling over to them, eyes wide, chocolate crumbs on the side of his mouth. "Is she okay? Tell me! Tell m—"

"Calm down, for fuck's sake!" Johanna says. "She's fine."

"Where've you been? Cutting classes?" Annie asks, narrowing her eyes.

"I was in the facilities!" Finnick protests.

"_Facilities?_ What in the—" Gale starts.

"He means the little boys' room," Clove explains.

"Ooh, that's a new one."

Finnick turns to his cousin. "Okay, what did you do? Do you realise you can get expelled because of this? We've already g—"

"Shut _up_, Finnick, it's too early! Lay off her," Johanna grumbles. "Besides, she can't be expelled. She's one of the best athletes—heck, she won us that first goddamn trophy."

Finnick shakes his head and sighs. "I guess you're right."

* * *

"Mr Hawthorne, can you read number ten?"

Gale freezes, looking down at his textbook. He had no idea which page they're in. He clears his throat. "Uh…"

"89," Annie mumbles in between coughs.

Gale clears his throat again. "10. Two important types of chemical reactions are combustion and corrosion. Combustion happens when anything burns or explodes. Corrosion happens when a metal like copper or an alloy like steel changes into something else."

"Very well. I'll just get the notices from the office. Get your workbooks out and copy those notes on the board, then answer the questions on page 91 of the textbook. 5 minutes," the teacher says firmly before leaving the classroom.

Jackie raises her hand. "Sir, do we need to—oh. Where'd he go?"

"What time does this session end?" Finnick moans. "I'm hungry."

"10 minutes left—no wait, that's 9," Marvel says.

Finnick frowns. "What's the answer to number 1?"

"Kinetic energy," Katniss says.

"Ooh, thanks." Finnick jots the answer down. "You know, it's lucky we've all got our classes together."

"Except Jewellery." Jackie rolls her eyes. "I don't get what your problem is about taking Jewellery. And now you complain how hard Woodwork is."

The teacher strides back in, adjusting his spectacles. "There's a Sausage Sizzle on Thursday, and sign-ups for _Panem Prep's Got Talent_ will be open lunchtime today. That's after this session."

"Sir, when's the actual competition?" Annie asks.

"Next Friday. Classes might be cancelled, and as you know, you don't need to bring your school things – with the exception of your ID and bus cards."

"YES!"

"Mr Hawthorne! You know I don't tolerate unnecessary noise in my classroom!"

* * *

"_Try to tell me what I shouldn't do, you should know by now, I won't listen to you_," Clove sang, meandering the hallways. "_Walk around with my hands up in the air, 'cause I don't care. 'Cause I'm alright, I'm fine, just freak out, let it go_…"

Marvel sighs. "We'll get caught if you keep that up."

"Calm down," Johanna says. "Nobody's here."

"Fine. You got the toilet paper?"

Johanna smirks. "Of course. Got the eggs?"

"In my bag."

"They'll break, you idiot! Take them out now."

"Okay." Marvel frowns, taking the egg carton out of his bag.

"That's more like it. 'Kay, we're here."

"We're not blind, Jo."

"I know. I just felt the need to say it."

"I honestly don't know why I agreed to come with you two," Clove says, pulling open the door to the dean's office, "though I know I'll get double-detention if we get caught. No pressure there. So… um, I'll be on the lookout. _Three knocks_." She closes the door.

"Let's do this!" Johanna begins toilet-papering the office.

Marvel pretends to talk into a walkie-talkie. "Bald Eagle to November Turkey Seventeen, we have breached the perimeter. Repeat, we have breached the perimeter."

"_Turkey Seventeen?_" Johanna cackles. "Well, what the hey."

"Fire in the hole!" Marvel whoops, throwing an egg at a portrait of Seneca Crane.

The room was well egged and toilet-papered when the two heard the three knocks from Clove. Johanna looks up from rummaging in the dean's desk drawer, her eyes wide. She whispers, "How long do you think we have?"

"Less than a minute," Marvel whispers back, quickly picking up his bag and tossing Johanna's over to her. "Vents!"

Johanna pries the tiny door of the ventilation-something open then hoists herself over. "Hurry!" she hisses as she disappears into it.

Marvel crawls into the ventilation pipes and pulls the door closed behind him. "Boy, is this place smelly."

"It's the eggs on your shirt," Johanna says. "Get rid of it later."

"What happened?" Clove asks as she straightens her _Paramore_ shirt. "Did you get caught?"

"Nah." Johanna grins. "We _totalled_ the place!"

"And _P.U._, do we smell!" Marvel adds. "Can we go to your dorm?"

Johanna nods. "What's for lunch, Clo?"

"Dunno. I'm a crappy cook."

"Let's order pizza, then," Marvel says.

"Yeah, pizza would be great." Clove pinches her nose. "Oh my glob, you guys _stink! _Wash up, idiots."

"Yes, Ma'am!"

* * *

**A/N**: hi, y'all. Sorry this chapter's a bit short. I was just wondering, do people even read authors' bios? 'Cause mine's pretty dumb. It's as dumb as me hitting people with bunny slippers. Anyway, I'm actually having some problems right now, so I think my updates are not going to be that frequent anymore – maybe. Just maybe. You know, because of school, and some other complications in life. Anyhow, I hope you liked this chapter. Have something to say/ask? PM me or leave a little review. Thanks a lot for your support, guys!


	6. V: This is what makes us girls

**A/N**: hi! Thank you guys for your reviews! They make me so happy, ya know. And user **cherrycolahoneykisses**, I really appreciate your concern. So much. Anyway, here's the next chapter, guys. Hope you like it!

* * *

"Yesterday was so fun! I want to do it again."

"We were in detention for the egg and toilet paper thing, Jo," Marvel says. "How the heck was that fun?"

"Well, at least the egg and toilet paper part was!"

While the two continue yelling at each other from opposite sides of the room, Glimmer tries to strike up a conversation with Gale.

"So, Gale… got any plans tonight?" she asks, playing with her hair.

"Oh. Oh, I, um…" Gale looks up from his Lego game. "Yeah. Yeah, I do."

Madge listens intently to the two across the room, pretending she was reading. She turns the pages noisily, something Jackie found strange – she ignores it, though, thinking maybe Madge was just caught up in the book, and resumes retouching her makeup. Johanna stands in front of the microwave oven with her arms crossed and her eyes narrowed, waiting impatiently for her food. "Come on, come on," she mumbles continuously. Marvel sits on the floor playing video games, either yelling triumphantly or groaning in disappointment and frustration time and time again. Peeta is hunched over the counter, making cheese buns for everybody. Katniss sits on the couch, her eyes glued to the screen of her laptop.

Cato leans on the bathroom doorway, watching Clove dip-dye her hair pink.

"Can't you leave me alone for a second?" she complains. "God."

"Nope. Come on, I just want to see how it's done."

Clove sighs but says no more.

Finnick stands in front of a mirror, fixing his hair and practising his smile. Annie shoots him a weird look. "What? This," he says, pausing to smile his gorgeous smile and point at it, "doesn't just happen."

Annie rolls her eyes. "Whatever."

"Gale," Glimmer persists, shooting the boy a flirtatious smile. "Tell me about your plans, I would _so_ love to hear."

"Uh, okay. I was thinking of going to the movies with Madge, come with her to the library, and maybe go get some dinner." Gale tells her.

"Really? Well, that's a shame… I was going to invite you—"

Madge slams her book shut and all heads turn towards her, even Clove's.

"Madge? What's—" Thresh starts, but Madge drowns out the rest of his sentence.

"CAN'T YOU STOP WITH YOUR SLUTTY WAYS EVEN FOR FIVE MINUTES? GOD, YOU JUST BROKE IT OFF WITH THAT BOY! IT HASN'T EVEN BEEN A WEEK! GALE IS MINE, YOU HEAR? SO GET YOUR PAWS OFF _MY_ BOYFRIEND AND STOP FLIRTING WITH HIM, YOU BITCH!" she explodes.

Glimmer gasps. "Well, it's not my fault he's flirting right back!"

"I wasn't even— I was just—" Gale sputters. "I was _not_ flirting with her!"

"Well maybe if you'd stop being a whore! For God's sake, he has a girlfriend!"

"I can't help it if I'm more attractive than you are and more boys go for me!" Glimmer continues, towering over Madge with her six-inch heels.

"Yeah, well, at least I'm not loose!" Madge fires back. "At least I'm not an easy girl who lets everybody get in my pants! I'm surprised you don't have all the STIs in the world yet!"

"You little—" Glimmer begins, but Madge slaps her. Glimmer lunges for the other girl, grabbing her hair and tugging furiously. Madge grunts, then her hand finds its way into Glimmer's hair and she pulls, screaming profanity. No more than three seconds pass, and it escalates into a full-scale spar.

"Madge, Glimmer, stop!" Jackie shrieks. "You're gonna hurt ea—"

"Break it up!" Johanna yells, trying to get in between the two. She turns to the rest of the group. "Guys, a little help here!"

The boys pull Glimmer and Madge away from each other, both writhing and yelling their heads off.

"She started it, I have no—"

"I don't care who started it," Johanna says, her voice dangerously calm. "If you two don't settle this non-violently, I swear to God, I will tell a teacher. Now resolve this before you both get in serious trouble." She ushers the two into her bedroom.

"Is it safe now?" Clove asks, poking her head out from the bathroom.

"Yep," Jackie answers. "Oh, hey, you're dripping pink stuff on the floor."

"Dammit!"

* * *

"I'm so sorry," Madge sobs. "I didn't mean to say those things, it's just—I was—"

"Don't take all the blame," Johanna says. "You, Glimmer—"

"Why is it always me?" Glimmer screams. "It's always me, me, me!"

"Calm down, alright? You're overreacting."

A sob escapes Madge. "It's my fault, I shouldn't have—"

Glimmer sniffs. "We don't want to hear it, _Saint Undersee._"

"BOTH OF YOU, SHUT UP!" Johanna roars. "Glimmer, I trust that you've learned today's moral. You do NOT ever flirt with one of your friends' boyfriends."

"She's not my fr—"

"Did I ask you to speak? No, so shut it. Alright, Madge—this is a bit hypocritical on my part, but I suggest you don't fly off the handle like that again. Are we all clear in here? I'm going to leave you to yourselves – you better not start fighting again or I'll have you kicked out of the Populars." Both girls nodded, and Johanna walked out of the room.

A long, awkward silence commences before Glimmer rambles, "Look, I'm sorry. I didn't mean what I said about you being unattractive, either. I didn't mean any of it. I didn't know you and Gale were dating, I—"

"I'm sorry too," Madge says. "I didn't mean to go ballistic and just explode like that. It's just… I love him, you know?"

"Yeah, I know. We're girls. This… this sort of shit happens. Drama."

"_Psh_. Yeah, you said it."

"So… friends?"

"Friends." Madge wipes her eyes with her shirtsleeve.

Glimmer gets up and says, "Come on, let's get something to drink," and both girls make their way out of the room, smoothing their hair and wiping their tear-stained cheeks.

"You guys okay now?" Jackie asks as Madge and Glimmer emerge from Johanna's bedroom.

"Never better," the girls respond in unison.

* * *

Clove disappointedly stares at her reflection in the mirror. She frowns. She's dyed her hair and tried everything to look her best – but nothing ever works. _Damn freckles_, she curses. _Damn it all to hell_. _I want skinny legs. I want a flat stomach. I just want to be thin! I've got to lose weight…_ She shakes her head and breathes in sharply. _No. Not this again._

She strips off her clothes then settles into the bathtub, making the soapy water spill over the sides of the tub. _Oh my God, how much do I weigh? Am I that fat?_ she catches herself thinking.

Suddenly, the door flies open. Johanna stood there, holding a pair of shoes. "_Chloë Isabella Cassandra Foster_!"

"What? Johanna, I'm taking a bath!" Clove protested, her arms flying to her chest.

"I don't care! How many times have I told you not to leave your shoes on your bed? Do you have _any_ idea how unsanitary that is? I want a valid reason for this misbehaviour!"

"They're—"

"I'm sorry missy, but I don't think I want to hear it! You will put these right back where they belong, this instant!"

"But—what the—Johanna, for heaven's sake, can't it wait? I'm in the—"

"No! You just spread God knows how many germs in this house!"

Cato comes skedaddling in. "Guys, what's going—? Oh."

"Go away!" Clove screams. "Oh my God! Just go!"

Johanna winces. "No need to shout! Gosh. Come on, dude." She takes Cato by the arm, closing the door behind them, and drags him out to the hallway.

Clove puts her face in her hands. Her cheeks feel hot against them, so she's certain she's beetroot red at the moment. She's never been so thankful for the bubbles. _Don't freak out_, she tells herself. A tiny voice in the back of her head says, _It's not like he had anything to see, anyway._ She ponders this for a moment, a small part of her wishing he did.

* * *

A/N: Sorry it's so short! While I was writing this chapter, I remembered that I promised you guys I'd give you some background info about the characters – and I'd completely forgotten to somehow incorporate those things into the story. Stupid, stupid, stupid! Anyway, I'll try my best to do that in future chapters. So… um… if you could _maybe_ review and tell me which character you want to know about first? Heheh. Thanks, guys! You lot are incredible. :)


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